A study by the University of Amsterdam concluded that Depression and Dementia are in fact linked. This is
something this website Mal Alzheimer has reported on in the past. We
are seeing a heavy increase in the numbers of people who are
suffering from both of these illnesses. Depression and Dementia are
very strong diseases that effect the brain, it is extremely important
to have both of these illness controlled.

The brain when depression

Those who are clinically depression suffer the inability to function
on a daily basis without the use of anti-depressants. The use of
drugs is often necessary for some people to carry out the daily
functions that most of us take for granted. Most anti-depressants
increase the amount of serotonin in the brain and this can help treat
many depressive conditions. Many depressed people have a low level of
serotonin in the brain thus the need for anti-depressants or
serotonin up-lifters. What about dementia and depression? What is the
common linking of the two illnesses?

Which came first?

Edo Richard, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues evaluated the association of late-life depression with MCI and dementia in a group of 2,160 community-dwelling Medicare recipients.

"Our finding that depression was associated cross sectionally with both MCI and dementia and longitudinally only with dementia suggests that depression develops with the transition from normal cognition to dementia," the researcher added.

The
Amsterdam study shows clearly that depression was one of the signs of
early Alzheimer's. What they concluded was that being depressed was
an indication of possibly having Alzheimer's disease similar to the
common memory loss. What this shows is that a depressed elderly
person may also have an un-diagnosed Alzheimer's; what may strengthen
this conclusion is another study from the USA

A
new study in California showed the same depression dementia link The
study from Kaiser
Permanente Northern California Division of Research showed
that depressed people in there 40's or 50's did not have an increase
in Alzheimer's disease but seniors did.

"It's
quite clear depression late in life can be an early sign of
Alzheimer's," explained Rachel Whitmer, a study researcher and
an investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division
of Research.

We must watch clearly for
signs of depression in our seniors, this may be a sign of brain
problems. We must be more attentive to how they are truly feeling.

What we can conclude from these studies is that a depressed senior
can be a very dangerous thing to their brain and a sign of Dementia. Watch carefully for yourself or loved one